Method of making shoes



Dec. 26, 14. M. F. ASHLEY METHOD OF MAKING SHOES Filed Oct. 15, 1942 WM? i Patented Dec. 26, 1944 o P; re NT OFFICE 2,365,796 a METHOD .OF SHOES: M n in E- A le r Arl n, Mass s r o hifie Sh Machin C r at on, F em n to: N, "J1, a corporation of New Jersey App]icationflctnbe i 42;.Sc a1'Nio. 32,109

6 Claims,

This invention-relates to: methods of making shoes. and .has forone of: its objects the-produc tion or McKay type shoes. without lasting and. with: 'economy of upper stock by the practice of atnovel preweltamethod of shoemaking. combine-- ing. the advantages of high production and econcm. In making McKayshoes ofif thelast in ac cord'ancelwith the method hereinafter. described not only is the expense of the lasts eliminated but,

the; use of -metallic: fastenings in the. shoe bottoming; operationsisalso. avoided. v

More specifically,. =it is antobject. of theinvention taproduce a McKay shoe by methods. involving the usemofiga temporary stripv which. initially. attaches the-upper and outsole: together but is. substantially (eliminated: in. the: completed shoe to permit theprQduQtion of. a shoe. having. thewthin sole andi closetedge effects. commonly found; in thetMcKay oonstructiom With the above and: otherpobjects in view,. the,

present invention in. one aspectthereof consists in the attachment to-the bottom margin of a shoeupperof a; thin strip of paper .or the like which,

while inadequate to serve as a permanentsoleattaching welt, serves as a means for provisional." adhesive attachment of: the upper to a sole After so: attaching the welt-strip to member.- the sole member, the upper and sole member. are

permanently seoured't'ogether, in accordance withthe usual methods of McKayshoemaking, by

stitches extending into the interior of the shoe, and thereafter the adhesive connection of the welt strip to the margin of the sole member is:

Widthwise from edge to edge and thus gathered-- lengthwise to adaptit tobendedgeWise-to permit it to. be conformed to the pattern of a shoe bottom. In the method as hereinafter described,

the strip is employed'togagethepositi'on of theupper on the sole. Thestrip faoilitates'the assembling-of the upperand the-solein determinate relation to each other and serves to hold them temporarily in assembled relation .until the sole- I attaching fastem'ngs are inserted In the illustrated shoe; the strip serves no further purpose whatever after said fasteningsare inserted Preferably, the upper and the soleare brought into predetermined assembled relation to-each other by positioning the-strip so that outer edge registers-with"the-edge face of-thesolea The solewill havebeem prerounded but preferably wills not. beicut to: its final. dimensionsrqsince:

an extendedtmargin: is. required; for" attachment of theoutward extension OftheiStI'iDs which: man;-

g-i-n'. is. in most cases trimmed, off,.,after r emoving. said outwardextensiomto provide aclose edged construction.

In accordance withthe methodchereinaftzer'de scrihed,..the striplis prepared for the removal of. itsfoutward. extension. from, the. shoe. by operate inghthereonk to; establish. arlong-itudinal break linewhich-is preferably close enough; to the strip at, taching. seam totbe covered;- in the finishedshoe; by thelinturned. marginnof the upper; In one illustrated method the: strip is slit; long-itudinalr, 15 1y. thereof to separate the.outward-e te ionm the; inward extension; after i s. attachment to the; sole Asgherein illustrated, thezupper and-the. soleare permanently secured together; by througheandethrough .fastenin s which extend through. the: outsola: the upper and? the insole, or alternatively, the fastening. 0peliaition-ma-yv le -per, iorme'd before inserting the insole in which-case. themargin. of; the insole covers the; fastening a-nd provides a smooth iioot=receiNingg s rtace.

I These and n a pec s at the in ent on wil now? betdescrihedhwith reference to the; accomnaming drawing an icoi it qt.ol ti theapeen eq' claims.

thedrawing,

. Fi 1 is a ro s ctional vie s n th margin. of .a rnpn p ovided witn a thin strip of crepedlpaper coated withpement;-

Eiei v ac o se ect ona e s o ing them Deli: margin illustrated in Fig, 1. turned-inward; 1y andtemnora ily a ched t a sol b the an strip;

Fig. 3 is. a cross-sectional view similar to Fig.

2 sh w n an ri n o a i s in he ho bottom, the llnSQlB, up er. and'outsole being secured to ether b aM a seam;

Fig. 4 is. a cross-sectional view similarto: Fig: 3 showing theblade, of a knife making a longi' siinal sl t thr h h paper st ip;

, Fig, 5 is a perspective view showing the shoe-- fragment illustrated in Fig; 4 with the outward eggtension of the paper strip partially removed om t s o Fig; 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the shoe of Fig.*5- with the outward extension of the paper strip removed and a leather welt stitched to the extension of the outsole;

Figs. "7 and 8* are cross sectional views illustrati'ng a modification oi the method* illustrated. in Figs. -1= to 6; Fig. '7' showing the; .outsol'e, the

paper strip and the upper secured together by, a

McKay seam and Fig. 8 showing the shoe of Fig. 7 provided with an insole which covers the McKay seam; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the strip illustrating the use of perforations for establishin a longitudinal break line to facilitate disposal of its outward extension.

In practicing the method of the present invention, an upper H] which is cut scant in accordance with the usual practice in prewelt shoe manufacture has secured thereto, by a seam l2, a thin strip [6 which extends about the entire periphery of the upper. The illustrated strip i4 is made of paper which is corrugated widthwise throughout its entire width and thus gathered or creped lengthwise thereof to create a fullness therein sufficient to permit a limited bending of the paper edgewise, that is, in the plane of the strip so that it may be conformed to the curvatures of the edge of the shoe bottom. It will in some cases be desirable to pink or slash the strip at the toe end of the upper, and possibly also at the heel end of the upper to facilitate the attachment of the strip to a sole. The sole-attaching surface of the strip is provided with a coating of cement for preliminary attachment of the strip to the sole. I prefer to employ for this purpose a pressure-responsive cement of the type commonly used in masking tape because such cement is well suited to attach the strip temporarily to the sole and is completely eliminated from the sole upon removal of the outward extension of the strip leaving the sole clean and non-sticky in the finished shoe.

In accordance with the method of the present invention, the upper is assembled with a sole, for example, the outsole 16 illustrated in Fig. 2, without the aid of a last, the outsole being prerounded to enable the upper and the sole to be assembled accurately by bringing the outer edge of the strip and the edge face of the outsole into registration with each other, as illustrated in Fig. 2. In assembling these parts the paper strip and the outsole are lightly pressed together, thereby provisionally effecting their attachment, after which an insole l8 (Fig. 3) is inserted into the shoe through the ankle opening of the upper and initially cement-attached to the inturned margin of the upper. Thereupon, the insole, upper and outsole are permanently secured together by through-and-through fastenings herein illustrated as a lockstitch seam 20 such as that commonly employed in McKay sewed shoes. The strip will be secured between the upper and outsole by the seam but will serve no further function whatever.

The next step in the method consists in the removal of the outward or visible extension of the paper strip M from the shoe. In preparation for the removal of its extension, the strip is slit longitudinally by any suitable tool, for example, a knife 22, a portion of which is illustrated in Fig. 4. Preferably, the slit is formed as far in under the margin of the insole as practicable in order to insure the removal from the shoe of the entire visible extension of the strip. The slitting operation may be obviated by providing a strip I4a (Fig. 9) with a line of perforations 24 extending longitudinally thereof. The visible extension of the strip, 1. e. the portion located outwardly of the slit or the perforations, is removed by merely stripping that portion from the outsole. Because of the gathered or creped characteristic of the strip the effectiveness of the bond produced by the cement coating thereon is interrupted where the creases or crinkles are located, a condition which enables the bond to be more readily broken and thus facilitates the stripping operation. After stitching the parts together, the extension of the outsole may be closely trimmed about the heel and shank portions in accordance with the construction illustrated in Fig. 8, and also, if desired, the forepart may be so trimmed to provide the close edge effect characteristic of certain types of McKay shoes. Also, if desired, the narrow extension illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 may be retained, or as a further alternative, the wider extension shown in Fig. 6 may be provided to receive a welt 26 which is secured to the extension by a lockstitch seam 28, giving the shoe the stout edge and tight crease characteristics of a stitchdown.

Referring to Figs. '7 and 8 illustrating a modification of the method above described, after the bottom margin of the upper is adhered to the outsole, the upper, strip and outsole are secured together by a lockstitch seam 30. An insole 32 is then inserted into the shoe through the ankle opening of the upper and cement-attached to the inturned margin of the upper concealing the seam 31] and providing a smooth stitch-free, footreceiving surface in the interior of the shoe bottom. I

While I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to a method in which an upper and a sole are assembled together without the aid of a last, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to off-the-last methods of shoemaking but, on the contrary, it is within the scope of my invention to shape the upper over a last or other shoe-shaping form.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Method of making McKay shoes which comprises attaching a thin strip of paper or the like to the edge portion of a shoe upper, said strip being inadequate to serve as a permanent sole-attaching welt, provisionally attaching the upperto a sole member Without the aid of a last by adhesively connecting said strip to the margin of said member, sewing the upper and sole member permanently together by means of through-and-through stitches e x t e n d in g through these parts interiorly of the shoe, and thereafter breaking the adhesive connection between the strip and the margin of the sole member and completely removing at least the visible portion of the strip from said margin.

2. Method of making McKay shoes which comprises attaching a thin strip of paper or the like to the edge portion of a shoe upper, said strip being inadequate to serve as a permanent sole-attaching welt, assembling the upper and a sole member without the aid of a last by provisionally adhering the strip to the sole member with its outer edge in registration with the edge face of said member, sewing the upper and sole member permanently together by means of through-and-through stitches e x t e n din g through these parts interiorly of the shoe, and thereafter breaking the adhesive connection between the strip and the margin of the sole member and completely removing at least the visible portion of thestrip from said margin.

3. That method of making shoes which comprises securing to the'bottom margin of an upper a paper strip corrugated ,widthwise from edge to edge and thus gathered lengthwise to adapt it to bend edgewise to permit it to be conformed to the pattern of a shoe bottom, l-ocat ing the edge of the outward extension of the strip relatively to the edge face of a sole so as to register theupperon the sole, removably attaching the strip to the sole, securing the upper to the sole by fastenings extending into the interior of the shoe, and removing in its entirety the visible portion of the outward extension of the strip from the shoe.

4. That method of making shoes which comprises securing to the bottom margin of an upper a paper strip corrugated widthwise from edge to edge and thus gathered lengthwise to adapt it to bend edgewise to permit it to be conformed to the pattern of a shoe bottom, turning the bottom margin inwardly to position the strip for attachment to a sole, assembling the upper and a sole without the-aid of a last by positioning the strip with its outer edge in registration with the edge face of the sole and removably attaching the strip to the sole, permanently securing the upper to the sole by fastenings extending through the sole, the strip, and the inturned margin of the upper, and removing entirely from the shoe the visible extension of the strip.

5. That method of making shoes which com; prises securing to the bottom margin of an upper a paper strip corrugated widthwise from edge to edge and thus gathered lengthwise to .ister the upper on the sole, removably attaching the strip to the sole, securing the upper and the sole together by through-and-through stitches extending into the interior of the shoe, and removing entirely from the shoe the visible portion of the outward extensionof the strip.

6. That method of making shoes which com- I prises securing to the bottom margin of an upper a paper strip corrugated widthwise from edge to edge and thus gathered lengthwise to adapt it to bend edgewise to permit it to be conformed to the pattern of a shoe bottom, turning the bottom margin inwardly to position the strip for attachment to a sole, assembling the upper and a sole without the aid of a last by positioning the strip with its outer edge in registration with the edge face of the sole and removably attaching thestrip to the sole, permanently securing the upper tov the sole by fastenings extending through the sole, the strip, and the inturned margin of the upper, slitting the strip longitudinally thereof to separate the outward extension from the inward extension, and completely removing the visible portion of said outward extension from the shoe.

MERWIN F. ASHLEY. 

